Blue Ribbon Vanilla Ice Cream

This vanilla ice cream is a summertime classic. It’s simple. Made of a sweet custard base and real vanilla– vanilla bean if you have it.

It’s creamy and sweet, rich but not cloying.

I’d like to think it’s the kind of dessert that could be the blue-ribbon winner of a small town ice cream contest. It’s simple and traditional, but good ingredients and a lot of love make it award-worthy.

It begins humbly, with egg yolks and sugar.

I’ve made this recipe a few times. Five yolks (suggested in the original recipe) make for an incredibly rich, gelato-like experience. Three make it much lighter, but less creamy and a little icy. Four yolks and you land somewhere in the middle. I suggest trying five yolks the first time, for something extra-special and decadent. Maybe try four the next time, if five is too rich for you. Ultimately, it’s up to you— do what your heart wants.

Warm cream, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and just a touch of salt get whisked over low heat to form a beautiful custard base. Chill in the fridge until it’s cold, and then churn in your ice cream maker.

Churned to perfection.

I picked up this ice cream maker from Amazon for under $30, and it does everything I need it to. The richer your ice cream base, the less powerful your machine needs to be. And this Cusinart, which looks a little sturdier, is still a great value at $55. I think we can all agree that this beauty is the champion of ice cream makers, but it’s the kind of thing you splurge on only once you know that you really really really love homemade ice cream. Whatever ice cream maker you choose, it will likely work amazingly for this recipe. You really can’t lose.

Directions

Combine the cream, milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add pod or add vanilla extract. Bring mixture just barely to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat. If using vanilla bean, cover and let sit 30 minutes.

Strain custard into a medium bowl. Let cool, stirring occasionally. You can speed up this process by placing the bowl over an ice bath, or you can place the mixture into the refrigerator overnight. If refrigerating, cover with a layer of plastic wrap in contact with the custard to prevent a skin from forming.

Churn the custard base in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

The original recipe calls for 5 egg yolks. I felt that 5 egg yolks made the custard very rich. Three made the ice cream lighter but icy. Four will land somewhere in the middle. I recommend using the full 5 for a rich and decadent ice cream, but cutting down to 4 if you want something slightly lighter.